As I near the end of this retrospective series, it seems fitting that I'd eventually get back around to talking about OCS. Now, you might argue that since I'm not covering Damaged Bug and other John Dwyer side projects, I shouldn't technically be writing about Memory Of A Cut Off Head. Yes, part of the reason he revived the OCS name is that he now considers Oh Sees and OCS to be distinct entities, though this is a bit of a sleight of hand. Early releases under the OCS name are certainly distinct in style and tone from, say, Help or Smote Reverser, but in the early-era of the band the subtle name changes slowly blurred OCS into The Ohsees and then into Thee Oh Sees and finally into Oh Sees. The lineup from the early OCS days also slowly morphed into the mid-era foursome, so even if I am cheating a bit on this one, I still think it's a relatively fair cheat. And anyway, Memory Of A Cut Off Head features contributions from Nick Murray and Tim Hellman, who were/are from the modern-era Oh Sees lineup, as well as future Oh Sees member Tomas Dolas, so there!
Like many surprise Oh Sees releases, the revival of the OCS name and announcement of an album seemed to come out of nowhere. Memory Of A Cut Off Head was released on November 17th, 2017, mere months after Orc. Technically speaking, this record is billed as a collaboration between Dwyer and Brigid Dawson. This is interesting because she was never nearly as a big presence on old OCS records. They were dominated by Dwyer...which makes sense, since I think we all forget Dawson didn't join OCS until album five, The Cool Death Of Island Raiders, which was released as The Ohsees, not OCS. So I guess she was never really a member of OCS until 2017? Eh, maybe this is needlessly splitting hairs. Memory Of A Cut Off Head (hereafter referred to as simply Memory) is a fun throwback in terms of the OCS style. To have Patrick Mullins back is pretty huge, as is the reappearance of former Oh Sees drummer Nick Murray (who we last heard on Mutilator Defeated At Last, or the Fortress single if you want to be a stickler for details). Tim Hellman is an interesting addition to the OCS sound, since if I remember right they never really had a bassist before. John Dwyer must love him as much as I do! Tomas Dolas contributes unspecified keyboards to the album, marking this his first appearance on an Oh Sees/OCS album, though he's billed as Thomas Dolas because...I don't know. It's either laziness or wh
... keep reading on reddit ➡This one keeps seeping into my rotation & even my girlfriend who I dragged to an Oh Sees show loves it (muahahahaha)
Any recommendations for tunes twisting anybody else’s melons?
Castle Face has several coloured variants of select Oh Sees albums back in stock. Fill those holes in your collection by giving cash to the artists rather than profiteers!
Visit Best Vinyl Deals for this deal or direct link // Buy From Walmart (free pickup / free shipping over $35)
This isn't my first time around the block, I have an idea of how things usually work over there at Castle Face. But I can't remember them ever cutting it this close to a release date. I spent Wed/Thur/Fri last week, and now Mon/Tues this week refreshing the page between 8a-10a pacific. Not complaining, not frustrated, just wanting to put the message out into the world to see what happens; maybe someone else is going through the same experience, maybe someone knows something, maybe the universe will be stimulated and it will go up minutes after clicking submit.
Didn't notice it going up, just checked and it's on there (can confirm UK and Australia Spotify)
160 kbps for those who dare
www.castlefacerecords.com
I think I'm being stalked
TW: suicide.
Last summer, during quarantine, a friend (F) and I (M) became really close. We're both students, although I'm about to graduate (and I'm a bit older than a "usual" student, 25; she's 22) and she's got one more year left. We lived very close and were in each other's bubbles, so we did a few things like distanced movie nights, meals with my roommates, etc.
I had known her and been friends with her, but I felt such a connection to her over summer. We used to talk about so much stuff we had in common. Not just stuff we loved, like meme culture and foreign films and Doctor Who, but other stuff. We both had friends who'd committed suicide at university. We'd both had real mental health difficulties. I felt so happy that I could be honest around her, and she said that she felt the same a couple of times -- that she was happy that she'd found someone who laughed at her raunchy jokes, and that she was having fun being around me. For those few months, I felt so at ease around someone, finally. I felt, for the first time in months, that I was enjoying conversations with someone.
Around September we virtually watched a film from a film festival that takes place in our city. We both loved it, sat around joking about it and other stuff for a while, then I left, and we made tentative plans to go to a museum that had just opened up, and go get takeout afterwards. And then, after that, she just... stopped responding. Like, mid-conversation. She isn't leaving me on Read, she hasn't even seen the messages, or the texts I've sent trying to check in. There wasn't any indication that she was angry at me, or even that anything had changed between us. I'm so confused.
I started having feelings for her and I had planned on telling her. Maybe it wasn't "falling in love," but at the very least, it was feelings. And I thought, maybe, she might feel something back, I don't know. It wasn't inconceivable, but I'm not banking on anything. But the truth is, I'm worried about her too, because she'd told me about moods when she would get so depressed she'd hurt herself, and just stay inside for months at a time. She'd recently cut off her Facebook, her Messenger, etc., and got a brick phone, which makes it a bit harder too. It's not just me, I've talked to our common friends and even her housemates (they live a block from us, she lives in the basement so is already isolated) and they haven't heard from her at all either. To be honest, the only way I know she's still alive
... keep reading on reddit ➡
don’t have* one.
She stopped all communication with me when I asked her to admit to my sister what her past was with SJF. In my next post I’ll go into detail about that conversation, which I have recorded on my phone. So please forgive me for taking long to share. This is harder than I thought. I just am in shock how brainwashed we all were, and that no matter what has come up to the surface of NJG, my mom will continue to protect THEM “the holy Apostles” she adores, as if they were perfect angels from Heaven. What I can’t swallow though is that my own mother, I believe was a victim herself but fell so deeply in love with Samuel that her mind SE TRASTORNO bc who in their right mind would want to give their daughters’ virginity to some grown ass man??? She was preparing me to “serve” SJF, started very young to take me to wash dishes etc, at his houses, in GDL and San Antonio Texas, but don’t let me frighten you, let me just confirm to y’all early in my story that THANK GOD I didn’t fall victim to their sexual desires! I smile now that I got away!!! I’ll tell why and how in my next post.
